Elephants Books

As with her first Jazz Jasper novel, Deadly Safari, Karin McQuillan's Elephant's Graveyard provides adventure, mystery and entertainment. That's a good start. On top of that, McQuillan's action scenes are among the most exciting and gritty ever written for a woman protagonist. Set in the beauty of the African Jungle, Elephant's Graveyard explores all kinds of relationships between people, animals, the environment, and ultimately, between good and evil. It's a great read that comes complete with a set of moral standards firmly in place. Write on, Karin McQuillan. Jazz is a winner.

This is my second book by author Karin McQuillan, and I am ready to read her third - Cheetah Chase! The book is well written, interesting - fast paced and lyrical at different points. The author's love of Africa, of its wildlife and her perceptive understanding of human nature come through very clearly. The book is written intelligently, with unexpected twists and turns to keep the reader curious and challenged. Its main protagonist is a real and likeable personality. I look forward to book number four!

The other two reviews have pointed out how, in Elephant's Graveyard and the other McQuillan books, the African nature scenes are terrific, and they are. What I want to point out is what a great heroine Jazz is. She moves fast, takes on adventures as if she were born for the chase, and never misses a beat as she navigates this exotic landscape. She has a thoroughly modern risk-taking sensibility and yet is totally feminine, not just a reproduction of tough guy detectives found in other novels. The real mystery is why this series hasn't continued. McQuillan's readers want to know more about this world of Africa and this character in it.

"Elephants" Graveyard", one of Karin Mcquillan's mysteries set in Africa (the others being "Deadly Safari" and "Cheetah Chase") is more than just a thrilling, good read. Ms Mcqillan is doing something that perhaps no other mystery writer is doing: she is combining her ability to write a fast paced murder mystery with her obvious love for nature and the animals she writes about. Ms. Mcquillan's deep concern about the dangers facing these animals as well as her knowledge of the disappearing environment which these animals inhabit should make her the darling of the World Wildlife Fund. She is doing them and us a great service. Like a wonderful juggling act, she is entertaining and thrilling her readers at the same time as she is instructing them. Read them all. They are marvelous!

The way, the author describes Kenya is wonderful. I've been there before and this book is like a safari to memory lane. Whether it is the beautiful Kenya of tourists and safaris and wildlife or the shocking Kenya of Nairobi slums, whether it is the culture of Kikuyu or the life of whites in this African country, it is all painted in vivid colors! I really loved that part. But the mystery part was sucks, pardon my language. I have already read "Deadly Safari" and it sounds so dumb, that the same lady should come across three murders in less than one year. And of course she solves them heroically. More or less without anybody's help. That's great, it's just a little too way off for my taste. If I may suggest something to the author: keep writing about Kenya, but try something different from mystery. Or at least let go of Jazz Jasper!

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf was an all right book! It was about how trees are planted, which leafs belong to which trees, and also how workers come and pick up tree sprouts to get transplanted and they tend them year after year then once the trees start to settle in they get measured, marked, and then uprooted again the workers load the tree up and take it to a place where people can go and buy it and re-plant it in their yard and that's what the kid in the story did! I don't think kids would really enjoy this book because it was pretty boring in my opinion but also very educational to the point kids would learn many things from this book!

Just wanted to let the readers know that the review for "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" is not a review for HICCUPS FOR ELEPHANTS and landed on this page by mistake.

Hiccups for Elephant is a great book for beginning readers because it's short, funny for the young'ens, and the letters are big and easy to see. This book is about a groups of animals trying to take a nap, but one has hiccups, the elephant. The animals wake up one at a time to try and help the elephant fall asleep. I strongly recommend this book for parents that are trying to get their kids to learn how to read. FORGET hooked-on-phonics. Why waste money on cheap carp when you can spend 3 bucks on this or less. GET THIS BOOK.

This is a great book to read to even the youngest readers. My daughter is almost 2 and LOVES this book. We read it three or four times each time we sit down to read. And from other reviews, it will continue to be a great book for when she is learning to read.

The book Hiccups for Elephant is a great children's book. It is about an elephant that has the hiccups. The other animals in the book are trying to sleep. But elephant can't because he has the hiccups. Elephant wakes them up on accident. So in the story all the animals work together. So they can find a way he will stop hiccupping. The book is funny and teaches a great lesson. About how important it is to work together and try to figure things out. This book I think is for kids between ages 4 -7 years old. This is a great book and it's funny. With the small words it helps children learn to read.It's a great book for the kids.The person reading it will enjoy it too.

A perfect book for a bridal shower! I read it to the bride-to- be. There were not many dry eyes when I finished.

I received this book when I was engaged and loved it. The night before my wedding, I read it right before I went to sleep. Its specific yet expansive blessings became a kind of prayer for me in my last hours of singleness. I now buy it for all my friends who are brides-to-be. An unusually personal and gracious book.

My mother-in-law gave me this book and I cried when I read it. It is beautifully illustrated and spoken with great meaning. It was even more special coming from my "new" mom! I love it and would recommend it for any one looking for something with sentimental value to give to a bride-to-be. I have my grandmothers hanckerchief that I held down the aisle inside the book now. What a wonderful keepsake this book is! I plan to purchase one for my sister and my best friend who are both getting married soon.

This book was given at a bridal shower. The bride to-be is 27 and 13 of her ivy league college classmates were in attendance and just raved about the book. All of them want copies even though they are not yet planning their own weddings. Tears welled-up when reviewing the pictures and description therein. A must for the newly weds or for a shower gift. Perfect.

A perfect book for a bridal shower! I read it to the bride-to- be. There were not many dry eyes when I finished.

Good introduction and advanced info on Service Catalogs. I have only been through the first half of the book, but that has been a great start. My organization is using this as well as other ITSM articles/resources to work on a Services Catalog. One of the best things about the book are the practical examples, diagrams and other visualizations which makes it a lot easier to understand versus all the broad theory. The sample docs from the CD are also helpful, but not as much as the samples in the book. The one thing that would make this book better is more actual complete samples for a real Services Catalog, including all the internal and external facing layers. This would be useful since at a high level, most IT departments are doing the same sorts of things, and no need to re-invent the wheel when you can start with something else that is worded fine.

I stumbled upon this book through a Service Catalog webinar I attended recently and I have to say that based on the lack of subject matter available on Service Catalogs I didn't expect much. However, after receiving and reviewing this book I wholeheartedly recommend it. Had I read this book prior to beginning my odyssey I would have saved an enormous amount of time.

I love the book it was shipped and received very quickly. Great job Amazon!

I was very pleased with the book on several fronts. I've seen too many people hitting the CMDB wall, in part due to a lack of efforts in developing a Service Catalog. Thanks guys, for help folks avoid a savage journey and finding the Right Road.

MyServiceMonitor, LLC
John Worthinton, Principal

The authors claim that in a service-centric world, it is increasingly meaningless to try to separate software from services; that IT Technology is an increasingly commoditized market, as commoditized as electric utilities; and finally, that nobody in normal circumstances builds in-house utility capabilities to leverage differentiation and competitiveness.

In this scenario, CIOs are facing pressure from inside and from outside their organizations . Inside pressures come from cost management and service management; both often perceived as complex cul de sacs. Outside pressures come from an increasingly mature On Demand Services , well established outsourcing markets, or common supply chain strategies. Regulatory demands and other factors will maintain the need for in-house IT requirement for a while.

However, CIOs and IT organizations with better chances to do something relevant and, above all, with chances to bridge with the business future, will be organizations that succeed in understanding IT as business' portfolio services.

This situation defines spaces of opportunities for IT organizations: first, to become aware of the topology of the space that is opening in the industry and the role Service Catalogs may play in solving the "how-to"; and second, to expand the collaboration of the IT community to develop a Service Design discipline able to project many interesting initiatives already being developed.

This book is a simple and robust approach to move IT in the service direction.

This is one of my 7 year old god son's favorite books. Following his review I bought a few copies for the children's hospital I work at. We let the kids choose which book we read for story time. We have about 5 kids who always vote for Elephants Visit London! The appeal seems pretty uniform between girls and boys. Some of our more talented kids have colored in the illustrations! These books have certainly got their wear, we've already ordered some replacements. This is the only kids book I could find from this author, I really hope to see more, maybe even another in this series!

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

This book claims to be aimed at 9-12 year olds, but based on my four children the story will lack credibility for that age group. Here are two examples: The author has a family of elephants riding in regular airplane seats, taxi cabs, and buses; and much of the humor is built around no one but youngsters noticing that they are elephants rather than people.

I also think that the humor is aimed at a preschool level: As part of their disguise, the elephants call themselves the "Elefant family" and virtually every character they meet asks them if they are French.

In addition, the capitalization is along the lines of what you find in preschool books rather than for the 9-12 year-old set.

The illustrations are quite good and work better than the writing. I was also amused to find an illustrated map of London bound in next to the cover.

All in all, this seems like an attempt to create an older reader's version of the Babar stories. I don't think it worked.

But you can probably have some fun with reading the book to preschoolers, as long as you don't mind explaining a lot of the story to them.

The author could improve this book quite a lot by including some material that describes that elephants as midget or miniature elephants. In addition, I think the story would work better without maintaining that the disguises fool all of the adults. The author could use the same approach as the Babar stories and have humans and elephants fully comfortable with one another. The content related to visiting various sites in London also needs to be upgraded to appeal to 9-12 year olds.

The Elephants Visit London is a delightful read for children and the adults who read it to them. Every child will giggle at the possibility of a trench coat and hat being enough to disguise an elephant! They'll understand that only adults are too blinded by what they see to look beyond to the reality that lies within. Eschberger has incorporated a lot of history and sight-seeing in a witty story. As a former children's librarian, I'd be happy to hand this book to one of my patrons. Bring on the next Adventure...and don't forget the peas!

The Elephants Visit London is a delightful and inexpensive treat for young readers who have just discovered the joy of chapter books. Following the Elephant family (two parents and their twin children Harold and Penelope - all of them bipedal elephants dressed in nice travel clothes) during their trip to London, The Elephants Visit London shows an elephant's-eye view of historic buildings, traditional English food, and the Natural History Museum. But when the twins suddenly go missing from the museum, detectives from Scotland Yard are set on the case! The last few pages offer lists to help young readers reacquaint themselves with British English terms mentioned in the book, such as "telephone call box" (telephone booth). A scattering of simple black-and-white illustrations round out this wonderful book, fun to read in its own right and especially recommended to help prepare young people for the culture shock of visiting London and England.

Lyall Watson's newest book, "Elephantoms, Tracking the Elephant," begins with a scenario slightly reminiscent of the novel, "Lord of the Flies." A troupe of bright, but rebellious, ten through thirteen-year-old boys has a month's unsupervised living at the southern edge of the African continent. (In an emergency, a distant farmhouse phone could be used to summon help.) These are brief, entirely amiable excursions unlike, and predating by several years, Golding's mini-society with its conjectures on the inherency of human evil. In the case of Watson's group - the self-dubbed "Strandlopers" - it was a situation affording them room to cultivate independence, camaraderie and a host of other survival skills.

Whether this is where Watson's own lifelong interest in the natural world began or expanded, is moot. It included his first sighting of a wild elephant and left an indelible mark.

For those who have never read any of this author's twenty-odd books, Lyall Watson holds degrees in a number of scientific disciplines alongside a pair of doctorates in anthropology and ethology. He has traveled extensively, both as an individual and an expedition leader. Earlier books include "Secret Life of Inanimate Objects," "Dreams of Dragons," "Heaven's Breath," the best-selling "Supernature" and, most recently, "Jacobson's Organ".

The young Watson's search for remaining elephants parallels his search for a university study focus, one that would include more than the single species represented by medicine. Human influences are colorful and impressive, as science notables Raymond Dart, Alistar Hardy, and Desmond Morris wander the halls of the author's curriculum. After an internship at the renowned London Zoo, Watson returns to his birthplace to direct the Johannesburg Zoo. Here he meets another elephant and the next phase of his search.

The history of African decision-making in terms of its unique animal populations appears to have been little better than that of the rest of the world. While South Africa's Addo Elephant Park is home to a 300-member herd and has achieved international fame, it is a feeble - possibly futile - gesture alongside Watson's listing of the nineteenth century indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds of thousands of elephants in what is now Zambia. "... a further 585,000 were wiped out in the Congo in the next half century."

Lest we think the twentieth century brought more enlightened times, there is Watson's account of his beloved South Africa's government-sanctioned elephant executions. (Our own Teddy Roosevelt, indulging himself in a 1909 post-presidential bloodbath/safari, helped dispatch eleven elephants - along with 500 other animals.)

For all the sorrow attendant to this and other stories of human interaction with "lesser" species, the author manages to end on a hopeful note. Given what we have learned in the preceding pages, one feels it is a hard-won optimism.

The combination here is of naturalist survey and subtle biography. What better way for a biologist to tell his own tale than by tethering it to one of the multitude of creatures he has studied?

As always with a Watson book, there is the deft entwining of history and science, folklore and personal observation. The final product is a tightly constructed gem of educational entertainment. At its heart is a subtle reminder that we are always diminished by what we destroy.

Marvelously written with elements of mystery and science. This is well worth reading, along with To the Elephant Graveyard, which is somewhat similar.

What is it that connects us to each other, and perhaps connects us across time. Lyall Watson is a gifted scientist who suggests some provocative possibilities in simple prose. If you don't want to think about his speculations you will still be entertained by his biographical adventures about South African Bushmen and Elephants. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that the author spends a lot of time telling the history of various Elephant herds and the men who slaughtered so many of them, and that's really a separate tale (or is it tail?)

I enjoyed this book. The author discusses his encounters with elephants over the course of his life in South Africa. Lurking beneath the surface is the possibility that the elephant's existence may go beyond the physical level. Elephants appear where they have not been seen for years. Lyall Watson encounters men whose life seems strangely connected on the spiritual level with the elephant.

At times I was not sure whether Watson was sticking to non-fiction or whether maybe he was twisting the facts a little to make a better story. Perhaps, as is often the case, truth is stranger than fiction. Nevertheless, the case is made that elephants are sensitive, social, and mysterious beings who deserve a place to thrive on Earth.

ELEPHANTOMS is biologist Lyall Watson's homage to one of the most significant influences in his life: the African elephant. The book is an inspiring compilation of elephant lore and scientific insights, served up in vintage Watson style.
One of the most attractive qualities of Watson's work is his willingness to honor the world's great mysteries, such as the nature of consciousness and its role in the world. What is real and what is illusion? Does the mind participate in generating what we call facts? In his elephant encounters, this question recurs again and again. Watson faces these mysteries as few scientists are willing to do. The result is an enchanting display of erudition and intition, which recall's Aristotle's observation that wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
Watson vividly describes the appalling stupidity and cruelty we humans have displayed toward one of the planet's most majestic creatures. Thus ELEPHANTOMS evokes in the reader a range of emotions, from ecstasy to rage.
ELEPHANTOMS meets my requirements as a reader. It educates, inspires, and challenges. It is anchored in science and spirit, head and heart.
Thank you, Lyall Watson.

-- Larry Dossey, MD
Author: HEALING WORDS, REINVENTING MEDICINE, and HEALING BEYOND THE BODY

My son loves this book (and all lift-the-flap books) but the illustrations are a little too psychedelic for my taste. Great use of color, but there are a lot of other books he and I both reach for before this one.

My 1 year old son got this for his birthday and loved from the first time I read it. He loves "peeking" under the flaps and finding the different animals. The bright colors are wonderful, and this is a nice change from the Board type books we usually read. You can use many voices for the different animals and he has learned the animal sounds from reading this book. It is fabulous and I am going to buy the other ones in the series.

We've been reading this to our now one-year old for several months. He loves opening the flaps and seeing the animals behind them.

A real favorite for him and us.

My 1 year old son got this for his birthday and loved from the first time I read it. He loves "peeking" under the flaps and finding the different animals. The bright colors are wonderful, and this is a nice change from the Board type books we usually read. You can use many voices for the different animals and he has learned the animal sounds from reading this book. It is fabulous and I am going to buy the other ones in the series.

He gets bored with regular old board books, but this one really captures his attention (he'll sit through it 2-3 times in a row!) There are many different animals, so you can use a lot of different voices. Cute illustrations.

This Horton Hears a Who board book was so cute for my one year old granddaughter, the plush elephant is adorable!

THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN FOR MY YOUNGEST GRANDCHILD. IT MADE HER
LAUGH AND IT'S EXTREMELY TACTILE AND FUN TO HOLD.

THE DELIVERY WAS ON TIME AND THE BOOK WAS IN PERFECT CONDITIOIN.


ENJOY IT!!!!
THANKS AMAZON

I haven't read the original, and I don't really get the story. We bought this because Horton is a puppet, and my 15 month old son, who is not usually affectionate with stuffed animals and the like, gives Horton kisses every time we read it. Mostly we use this book to play, wiggling the ears, twirling the trunk, and don't worry about the text (which is not some of the better text in the Dr. Seuss Nursery Collection). The pages are difficult to turn because of the puppet, but we work through it. ;)

I purchased three books and received them promptly. My grandchildren and Great Niece loved the books. They had just seen the movie and they were happy to have a book with Horton. Thank you for the great service as always.

This book is adorable. The elephant is actually a little puppet! You can wiggle his ears and twirl his trunk as well as move his mouth. It doesn't all rhyme like I was hoping, but it's still a pretty cute book. Kinda corny, but when you're reading to your baby it doesn't really matter. :)

I find that my 4 year old granddaughter really responds well to Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, as do I. Which made this a perfect one for talking about the feelings of her 2 year old brother.

Everything by Helen Lester is a pleasure to read to children, and have children read to you. The illustrations are always delightful as well.

We recently checked this book out of the library. I was not familiar with Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, but my 5 year old (and I) loved this book on the first read. The illustrations are delightful. The best part is the wonderful drama that can be injected while reading. My daughter loves all the great weeping and wailing that Fragility performs (she is a bit of a drama queen, eh?). Not only is it fun to read, it also has wonderful life lessons, such as: learning to like yourself, accepting compliments graciously, and even dealing with bullies (Rudy the bully ends up in a weeping pile himself, and he actually learns some lessons too).

I'm here today to purchase this book and any other Lester/Munsinger books I can find.

Fragility is a hippo who is very insecure. Her friends give her nice compliment but she always takes them as insults. Fragility cries all the time and her friends start to avoid her. Things change for Fragility one day when she decides to stand up to the neighborhood bully Rudy the elephant. Find out how Fragility turns her life around and learns some important like lessons.


What did you like or not like about the book?

We felt that the book could be used to start various discussions on feelings. Also the topic of bullies could be brought up as well after reading this cute picture book.



Yes. The cover shows a big hippo crying and using up boxes full of tissues.
Itdraws you in and makes you want to read to book to see what is wrong with her.

This is the story of Fragility, a hippopotamus who, despite her large size, was very fragile emotionally. Even when someone complimented her she managed to reframe it into an insult and was hurt again. So what happens when she is responsible for protecting the goal in the soccer match and the bully of an elephant decides to insult her? You'll have to read the book to get the answer. "Hurty Feelings" is a fun read for children with well-drawn illustrations that are both detailed and humorous, and an excellent message, which makes it a highly recommended read.

The entire process was easy. The book came on time as described in post for listing! I was very pleased.

Philosophy and theology is what is written about here. The two have always been interlinked by cultures.

Here Sire expands on his previous work "The Universe Next Door" where in the modern world of the religions being more universal in scope he presents his additional thinking on the subject.

Certainly this can be beneficial in several senses. First, for the Christian one can gain insight into the consistency of one's own worldview. What I mildly object to is the sense that one's behavior overall speaks of one's worldview. According to Romans 7, then this is impossible consistenly. Second and more importantly, apologetically speaking this is of value is helping Christians speak of worldview in case of discussing with other worldviews.

All this needs tempering with the Biblical truth that no one will be argued into the faith, either philosophically or worldview speaking. The Spirit must teach the truth or no penetration will succeed, no matter how good the worldview is.

He has good biographical sources cited, especially would this reviewer suggest Nancy Pearcy's book "Total Truth."

Matthew 5:48 "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.". It seems to me that this book correlates with the teachings of the Christian Scriptures and forces our minds to except the reality of following a being who is God our Father than a theoratical concept. I read this book not because of my interest in Philosophy and/or Worldviews only but because understanding Christ and His Scripture the Bible. This book created more thirst for the Knowledge of Christ; motivated me to read Scriptures more, and encouraged me to knowing and loving Christ personally (ontologically) through Bible Study, Prayer and Communion in Trinity.

Sire's concept of worldview is that it is a set of presuppositions that are more or less consistent with each other. These presuppositions are our primary foundational commitments. This means that we have no rational reason for holding these beliefs. If we had a rational reason for these beliefs, the rational reason would be the true primary foundational commitment (unless it had a rational reason). These presuppositions are the reasons (whether rational or not) for all our other beliefs.

Sire believes that a worldview covers seven distinct areas of belief. The first area on his list deals with prime reality which means God, gods, and/or matter. He defines the second area as dealing with the reality (the real world) around (or outside of) us and our relationship to it. Humanity is the third area in Sire's scheme of World View. Sire asks, "What is a human being?" He also uses the concept of death as his fourth area. Every person has some presupposition about what happens to a person at (or after) death. The fifth essential commitment in one's worldview raises the question as to whether it is possible for anything to truly be known. Related to this is the presupposition concerning right and wrong. This area deals with one's ability to know right and wrong and how one determines right and wrong. The meaning (or lack of meaning) of human history is the final component of one's worldview. These seven primary foundational commitments work together to form every other belief and thought that one has.

The one negative this book has is that it seems a bit too western. One would almost get the idea that philosophy and worldview as a concept did not exist outside of the west.

It doesn't matter who you are, what your background is, or what your religion is. You have a worldview. You may not have specifically thought about it, you may not even realize it but you have one and it effects how you view events and then how you react to those events.

I have realized this for many years and have spoken to many people and I find it most interesting that those who have some of the most dogmatic worldviews refuse to believe that they have any worldviews at all.

Although there are many different worldviews I break them down into two main branches.

1 Ontologically Based Worldviews (Ontology precedes epistemology)

2 Epistemologically Based Worldviews. (Epistemology precedes ontology)

I had thought that I had been a original thinker many times wondering if I should write a book espousing my beliefs and illuminating the world into a new area of thought only to find out that it has already been done. Oh well, at least I can say that I am wholeheartedly endorse this book.

I don't want to have any plot spoilers here but it is well worth the ten bucks for the pure synaptic enjoyment and mental debates you will have. Kudos Mr. Sire for a job well done.